Kalarippayat

KALARIPPAYAT

Kalarippayat, or Kalari, has been in practiced since time immemorial. It evolved at the junction of the indigenous dravidian culture of Southern India and the vedic culture. Once a dying art preserved only be a few remaining grandmasters in Kerala, Kalari is now slowly rediscovered. Once it was a way of life, and every 6-8 year old child would be initiated to the practice at the beginning of the annual rainy season - regardless of sex, caste or religion. The training is conducted in so called „Kalaris", rectangular pits in strict east-west-alignment, dug deep into the red clayey earth of Southern India. With the entrance on the east side, three and a half steps dodwn into the pit, they sing an ancient hymn to Kundalini, that which „resides in the pit". Sometimes referred to as the "Tantra Yoga of Martial Arts", Kalarippayat, or simply Kalari, is not just a martial art, but also a powerful healing art and one of the oldest forms of primal human movement still alive. Its fierce physical sequencing is deeply wired into our evolutionary consciousness, ultimately aiming at balancing our whole being on a psychophysical level. The ultimate goal is the realized state that the scriptures describe as „when the body becomes all eyes".

>> Friday 19.00-21.00 | Session I: Welcome and IntroductionWe will start the weekend with the introduction of the participants and the Kalari. You will learn about the basic psychophysical posture of the practice and the Abhyassis, as Kalari Practitioners are traditionally called. As one of the arts Senior Teachers in the West, Kai will also give a brief introduction to the art's tradition and history, as well as the differences to other contemporary movement arts, martial arts and yoga.

>> Saturday 09.00-11.00 | Session II: Embodying the Animal SpiritYour first encounter with the Kalari practice is through the so called Animal Postures, Ashta Vadivu. Practicing these ancient, simple, and yet profoundly powerful and deep postures alone can trigger a powerful process of transformation. They constitute the psychophysical foundation of the Kalari practice. Become familiar with the concept of posture in Kalari, and also learn how it differs from what you might have learned in other traditions like Hatha Yoga.

>> Saturday 13.00-15.00 | Session III: The Salutation FormWatching the opening sequence of the Puthara and Kalari Vandanam can be mesmerizing. This ancient sequence is flowing with sublime grace, yet grounded and structured at the same time. The Salutation Form has been opening the space for regular Kalari practices, as well as ritual duels for millennia, its practitioners utilizing its subtle power to enter a state of detached clarity and awakened energy.

>> Sunday 09.00-11.00 | Session IV: The Male FormMale and female sequencing takes us deep into the heart of Vadakkan Sampradayam, the Northern Style of Kalarippayat. We will start with the Male Form, tapping into what the scriptures call "transformative fury" with a one-pointed focus, which is ultimately a fierce invitation for our Kundalini to rise, as well a powerful tool of personal transformation.

>> Sunday 13.00-15.00 | Session V: The Female FormNow we are ready to take our first steps in the Female Form, expanding our senses outwards into a state of maximum sensory awareness. This is where we put the energy previously created in the male form into action, losing and regaining focus, jumping, crouching low and rising high. The Arapukai is not just a set of techniques, it tells an ancient story of cosmic creation.

KAI HITZER

Kai discovered Kalari in early 2004 while looking for effective exercise to help his recovery from a severe slip disc syndrom. inspired by this experience, he embarked on his first 6-months trip to Kerala in Southern India, starting his studies under Kalari Grandmaster Gurukkal CM Sherif of Kannur. Kai has been passing on the art ever since his return in 2005, his lessons characterized by years of experience with various martial arts, Yoga and their underlying philosophies. A Senior Instructor of the Kerala Kalarippayat Academy (KKA) and the founder of Kalari.org, Kai opened his clay-floor Kalari in Hamburg in 2006. He is currently based in Hamburg and Barcelona, set on making Barcelona one of the places in Europe to build pit Kalari in the near future.